CORE A ? ADMINISTRATIVE, MENTORING AND EDUCATION CORE SUMMARY/ABSTRACT The Cardiorenal and Metabolic Diseases Research Center (CMDRC) has diverse functions and is comprised of multiple components, including research projects of 4 investigators, a Pilot Grants Program, a Mentoring and Education Program, administrative units, and two Research Resources Cores. Core A provides administrative support and coordinates all Center activities, develops and implements mentoring and education programs, and interfaces with the NIGMS, University of Mississippi Medical Center (UMMC) administration, the UMMC Grants and Contracts office, the departments represented in the CMDRC, and the investigators and trainees of the Center. Specific functions of Core A are: 1) to provide leadership for enhancement of infrastructure, mentoring programs, and core facilities that foster research excellence and lead to development of an internationally recognized CMDRC; 2) to develop, implement and monitor a Mentoring and Education Program that facilitates progress of the research projects and development of the junior/early career investigators (ECI) into independent, funded researchers who are also effective collaborators on multidisciplinary research teams; 3) to further enhance the Pilot Grants Program for promising new investigators, with emphasis on recruiting and mentoring underrepresented minority (URM) investigators; 4) to further develop and implement educational programs that facilitate collaborations and interactions among investigators from multiple disciplines at UMMC, as well as with external partners; 5) to develop and implement programs for recruiting, training, and mentoring a diverse group of postdoctoral fellows, undergraduate and graduate student trainees to become the next generation of CMDRC researchers; 6) to provide formative and summative evaluation strategies for progress and effectiveness of all CMDRC programs and Cores; 7) to provide high-level program administrative support to the research project and pilot grant investigators and core directors; 8) to provide fiscal oversight of all research projects and cores and central services for purchasing; 9) to further develop and maintain the CMDRC website, provide assistance to investigators in design and operation of their computer systems, insure that all data and documents are securely stored on the server and on external drives, install new software and make minor repairs of computer equipment for CMDRC investigators; 10) to develop and implement mechanisms for effective communication among the Center investigators, Core leaders, Center staff, External Advisory Board (EAB), Internal Advisory Board (IAB), and Executive Committee, other centers within UMMC, and external partner institutions; 11) to organize scientific meetings and seminars related to the CMDRC as well as meetings of the EAB, IAB, and Executive Committee, and an annual retreat/symposium; 12) to ensure that all CMDRC programs, initiatives, policies and reporting mechanisms are optimally developed, implemented, and administered within federal granting agency policies and deadlines.